


lift your lamp

by daphnie_1



Category: Avengers (Comic), Spider-Man (Comicverse)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Canonical Character Death, Civil War (Marvel), One Shot, Wordcount: Over 1.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-16
Updated: 2012-07-16
Packaged: 2017-11-10 02:57:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/461480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daphnie_1/pseuds/daphnie_1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"None of them have tried to stop him. None of them have turned him in or tried to make him turn himself in. But it it will, eventually, get back to SHIELD that Steve Rogers is walking America with one purpose and that simple purpose is this: Steve Rogers is raising an army."</p>
            </blockquote>





	lift your lamp

**Author's Note:**

> This comes from my where my prompt was: "Any What If" so I chose this [one](http://www.comicvine.com/what-if-fallen-son-what-ifiron-man-had-died-what-if-the-runaways-became-the-young-avengers-part-2/37-145487/).  
> If you arn't familiar with the issue I think the fic should make sense but it might be worth reading over the breif synopsis i've linked to.

He catches snippets of the news in the little roadside cafes he sometimes stops in on his travels. The new Captain America talks about the act, how it's good, how it's right, and everyone thinks that it's him.

Sometimes the news talks about Tony, about the Avengers, and they always use the same photo of Tony. It's a good photo. Tony is smiling, a proper smile, and unlike most photos of Tony the smile is actually reaching his eyes. He had been smiling at Steve, they had been joking, and laughing, before all of this. Steve can understand why they use that photo.

They talk about how Tony and Steve had hated each other secretly, always had, about how the registration act had just given them an excuse to fight publicly. They had tolerated each other for the sake of the Avengers and nothing more. Everyone buys it, of course, they do, and they ignore the countless photos from events, and galas, and everything else of Steve and Tony just being Steve and Tony. Everyone buys into this new version of history because they have no reason not to.

Except the superheroes.

They all tell him how sorry they are and he has told them all the same thing: "This is wrong, and we all know it."

After Tony died, the first thing they did was pass the superhero registration act. The first thing they did after passing the superhero registration act was to hand Steve Rogers his life back.

They took the costume and the name, and they handed him an art degree and a new life. Osborn, SHIELD director, had smirked at him and said, “Perhaps they'll let you draw superheroes instead of playing at being one,” and he had waved his hand at Steve. “Now run along. I have a world to run.”

Captain America might have punched Norman Osborn but Steve Rogers had simply turned around and walked away.

None of them have tried to stop him. None of them have turned him in or tried to make him turn himself in. But it it will, eventually, get back to SHIELD that Steve Rogers is walking America with one purpose and that simple purpose is this: Steve Rogers is raising an army.

Peter Parker sits across from him, flicking his fingers against the side of a cup of coffee but he hasn't said anything. The place is small, but packed with people, and they are the only ones not making some sort of noise.

When Peter does speak he says, “That is seriously good. I mean wow.”

He's looking at the picture Steve has drawn of Peter in his Spider-Man costume, doodled on napkin while Steve had been waiting. It's not much, but Peter seems almost enraptured with it.

"Do you prefer Peter or Spider-Man?," Steve asks quietly.

Someone in the background yells something at the TV but Steve doesn't catch it because Peter glances up from the drawing and just looks at him for a moment before tilting his head. "Uh. Um. I'm not sure what your asking?"

Steve can't remember Spider-Man ever being this unsure, this nervous, because Steve is used to him having an answer for everything. Steve shoots him a smile. "Do you prefer to go by Peter or Spider-Man?"

Peter glances down and starts drawing patterns on the stained red and white table cloth. The response Steve gets in return is total Spider-Man. "Look, Cap, I really don't want to be rude but I shouldn't be here. What do you want?"

Steve nods, because okay, he can appreciate just cutting to the chase. "I want you to be Spider-Man again."

Peter starts laughing, but stops dead when he realizes that Steve isn't joking. "I can't. You know that. There's a little thing called the Superhero Registration Act. You're fond these days; you should know it."

Steve shakes his head. "That isn't me."

Peter tilts his head again, thinking, and he nods. "They took your costume? Rough."

Steve doesn't care about the costume. The costume means nothing. It's the name, it's the shield; those are worth far more than the costume, but they both understand that so he just nods.

"Why?" Peter asks, "Why are you doing this?"

Steve doesn't even have to think about it. He knows. "It's what Tony would have wanted." Steve answers simply because it's true. It is what Tony would have wanted even if Tony himself wouldn't have known that. Because Tony would never have wanted people set against each other, Tony would never have wanted _this_ if only he had understood.

"Tony. Tony would not..." and there's a pause, "Tony did this he. Man, _Tony_." Peter runs his hand across his face, he looks so much older, and Steve remembers he's not actually a kid. Hasn't been in years. Tony always talked about Peter with an exasperated fondness but Steve has come to realize that while he knows Spider-Man he doesn't know Peter Parker.

Peter sighs. "Dude was an asshole."

Steve doesn't argue with Peter, not like he's argued with other people over this, because Peter has been through more than most in this war. Because Peter knew Tony and right now he's just angry, and upset, and Steve can't help but think how choked up Peter had been at Tony's funeral even though he had tried so hard not to show it. Even though he had been so angry.

A waitress comes over and asks Steve if he wants more coffee. She looks at them both for a second, considers something, and shakes her head. Steve gives her a smile and says he's fine.

The waitress goes and Steve clears his throat. “I want you to take up your costume again and I want you to join me. I know you were on the other side but you quit the Thunderbolts because you know it's not right, and I want you to join us."

Peter is back to flicking the side of the cup but ends up taking a sip from it while Steve waits. The last thing he wants to do is rush Peter. It's a big decision after all.

“There's an us?” Peter asks before he realises, “It was you. The Spider-Man symbol on the side of the Daily Bugle. It was you.”

Steve nods.

“Sonofabitch,” Peter mutters to himself before running his hand through his hair. "What would you do?" And then Peter stops himself. "No, I know what you'd do. What would Tony have done?"

Steve considers this for a moment, but it only takes a moment, because he knows. "What Tony always did. What he thought was right. You need to decide what you think is right for yourself."

Peter laughs. "I don't need to decide. You're Captain America. When are you ever wrong?"

But he has been wrong before, and he will be again, and he isn't perfect despite what people seem to think and Peter at least should understand that.

"I'm not Captain America anymore," Steve tells him, and he shakes his head. "I'm just Steve Rogers."

Peter shrugs. "And I'm just Peter Parker now,” and he stops and he pauses, and he can see something shift in Peter's eyes, “I don't even get to be Peter Parker do I? And look, no, okay. No. I have ended up being shoved around in you guys' petty little squabble for way too long now.”

“This was never about me and Tony.”

Peter laughs, he actually laughs. “Sure it wasn't.”

At the start it hadn't been, but it had become that way because they'd both let it and, well, there's not a whole lot he can do about that. And he almost laughs because how did it all become this? He stands, and gives Peter a slight smile. “I respect your decision Peter. You need to think on this and you need to decide what you're going to do and I won't interfere.”

Peter looks at him for a moment and says, “It won't bring him back.”

“I know,” Steve answers because it won't and that isn't what Steve is trying to do at all. He doesn’t look back.

Steve is in the same cafe three days later when he sees Spider-Man on the news pulling civilians out of the wreckage of a burning car and, despite everything, he smiles.


End file.
